Beauty and Silence
by FatGlamour
Summary: Her silence was testimony to his undeserved guilty sentence. Implied SSHG, Oneshot.


**Beauty and Silence**

He couldn't help but think her beautiful. He found himself caught in these thoughts no matter how much he hated her.

She knew, yet said nothing. Her silence was testimony to his undeserved guilty sentence.

She kept her giant mouth shut for things that needed saying. For all her effort in her youth of sharing her infinite wisdom, she kept silent now.

And he was certain she did it to spite him.

Even now as she sat by her fireplace reading a large tome as if not having a care within the world, she tortured him. More and more innocent blood was being spilled everyday only because some brazen vixen was harboring a childhood grudge.

And yet, he couldn't help but think her beautiful.

He was, perhaps, one of the few men to think so. She, certainly, didn't indulge in any beauty treatments. She could care less about her outward appearance, only requiring herself to be clean and decent. She was the least extravagant female he knew, all her money spent on books and Potions supplies.

She was a woman whom he had spent his entire life trying to find. He was twenty years her senior, a dark vindictive man, who longed to be rid of his past. She was young, vibrant, and highly intelligent, who had a decidedly horrible habit of dangling pardons before a sinner's eyes.

Hateful girl.

Beautiful girl.

Silly little girl.

He stalked toward her form, his Concealment charm fading. He barely registered the shock in her eyes before he yanked her out of her chair, her book clattering to the floor. He smirked when he saw it was a Potions text. He looked as her eyes darted to the open windows. With a swift wave of his wand, the windows closed and the curtains pulled. With another wave, the house was warded and silenced to outsiders.

Just in case she felt the need to scream.

She stared up at him with hollow chocolate eyes and he forced down his infatuation with her, only to force up his hate. He pulled her up against him and tightened his grip on her forearm. His face was mere inches from her when he sneered at her brave face. She sickened him.

Then why did he also feel proud?

"You've grown complacent, _Miss Granger_," he snarled in her face and squeezed her arm tightly, feeling something snap under his fingertips. She let out a strangled scream and he pushed her back into her chair, towering over her as she cradled her arm.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked. Her face was extremely pale, sweat beginning to form on her brow.

He leaned down to get in her face once more. She pushed herself as far back in the cushions as she could but his hateful face just followed her forward.

He was toying with her.

"Miss Granger, it never ceased to get on my nerves when I had you in class. You see, you had an answer for _everything_. This is why the Headmaster deemed you worthy enough to know the truth. _Worthy_, Miss Granger. So the question is, why for _once_ are you not opening your incredibly _large_ mouth at a time when it is most _desperately_ needed?"

To her credit, she did not look ashamed. Instead of cowering as he wished she would – which was perhaps too much to ask for as she was a Gryffindor – she merely stared at him with those same penetrating eyes.

"And to think I once thought you intelligent, Professor."

Suddenly, his hand came around her neck and squeezed. Her uninjured arm came up to try and pull his hand free. He watched as her lips began to be tinged blue, watching in grim satisfaction as the life was being drained from her.

Then he saw her eyes again and once more they were hollow.

He released her and stepped away from her quickly, moving until his back was up against her bookcase. He watched her suck air into her starving lungs and he watched as the color slowly returned to her face.

"I… I'm… sorry…" Severus spat out as he stared at her and turned his eyes away from her face as tears began to fall down her face.

Silence reigned between them for a while, both of their breathing returning to normal, until her soft voice carried over the stillness.

"Why do you have reason to think I have not spoken? Why does it not occur to you that they do not believe me?" Her eyes looked up at him, her ashen face shining in the dying firelight. "You have too much faith in those people, Professor."

Rapidly, the hope drained out of him and he stared at a woman who had perhaps been ostracized because of him. "They are fools," his voice broke and he stared into the fire.

Had it all been for nothing?

Unexpectedly, he felt a touch on his face and looked at Hermione Granger as she stood before him. Her hand was on his face and her eyes scanned his, looking for something unexplainable.

"Don't go back to them, Professor," she pleaded, wrapping her uninjured arm around his waist – as comfort for him or her, he knew not.

"And where might I go?"

"We could always say that I killed you."

He smirked.

Clever girl.


End file.
